Program boosts students’ classroom, social skills

Parents, from left, Dardella Brown, Washaundra McNeil and Hadrian McNeil were part of a group that met to discuss a summer trip to Costa Rica for 16 students at the West-Side Scholars Academy on Feb. 9. The new academic enrichment program meets two Saturdays a month at Plum Grove Baptist Church. Its mission is to prepare students to compete on an international level in academics and jobs.

Erin Nelson | The Tuscaloosa News

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 11:57 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Plum Grove Baptist Church is taking seriously the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Facts

If you go

What: West-Side Scholars Academy’s African American Scholars Quiz Bowl CompetitionWhen: 9 a.m. Feb. 23.Where: Plum Grove Baptist Church’s Development and Outreach Center, 2822 Fosters Ferry Road, Tuscaloosa.Who can enter: Any church, school or group that creates a team of three middle-school students.Awards: Prizes include savings bonds, trophies and T-shirts.Information: www.wsscholarsacademy.org or call 205-752-2762.

In September 2012, the Rev. Tyshawn Gardner, pastor of Plum Grove, opened the West-Side Scholars Academy, an academic enrichment program. Its mission is to develop Tuscaloosa’s youth intellectually and socially so they can compete on an international level in academics and jobs.

“I think education is the key that unlocks so many doors,” said Gardner, who also is dean of the academy. “Jobs and so many other opportunities become available when you have an education.

“Our motto is ‘Achieving excellence by affirming greatness,’ ” he said. “We believe there’s greatness in every child and it’s our responsibility to affirm that, not only intellectually, but socially as well.”

West-Side Scholars Academy is a fifth- through eighth-grade program that meets from 8 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. Classes are held at Plum Grove’s new Development and Outreach Center, which is adjacent to the church.

There are 16 students in the program’s inaugural class. The school has nine teachers and six administrators. Scholars at the academy are required to wear the school uniform — a long-sleeve button-down white dress shirt with the academy logo on it, a blue tie and khakis.

The academy teaches math, reading, science, Latin, public speaking, drama, character development and business etiquette.

“Business etiquette isn’t formalized as a class, but it is reinforced through everything we do, like giving firm handshakes, looking people in the eye when you speak to them, keeping your appearance neat and speaking properly,” said Art Dunning, director of the academy.

Justin Jones, a teacher at the academy, described the school’s teaching style as interactive.

“One of the ways that we combat kids not wanting to be in Saturday school is we engage them,” Jones said. “We play different kinds of music that many of them may not have heard before. We use props like playing cards to teach math. We use games to help them learn in a way that keeps them interested, but we also challenge them in all kinds of ways.

“We want to challenge their thinking process,” he said. “Also, we are focused on dispelling this nonsense idea that as a student you have no responsibilities. They need to know that when they enter high school, the consequences for not succeeding are high.”

Gardner said the academy isn’t competing with local public schools. He said the academy’s staff wants to aid local schools by maximizing their classroom performance.

“Consistently we’re asking our school systems to do more with less,” Jones said. “The academy is here to help them go beyond.”

Study abroad

Dunning said they want academy scholars to become cultured and to change their perspectives.

“We want them to have exposure and enlightenment,” Dunning said. “That’s why we’re taking them to Costa Rica in early August for four days. They’ll be staying at the University of Georgia located there. While there, they’ll have classes on biodiversity, visit a volcano, study the ecology of the rainforest and go to the physical site of a continental divide.

“We want these things to be life-altering,” he said. “It’s one thing for us to talk about biodiversity and continental divide, but it’s another thing to expose them to it.”

All 16 scholars and some of their family members will travel to Costa Rica.

They’ll travel this summer to nearby locations such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s interactive 3-D visualization and simulation lab.

Mariah Cook, a 12-year-old at the academy and a seventh-grader at Tuscaloosa Magnet School Middle, said her science, math and Latin classes at the academy have helped her in school.

“I like the academy because it’s not all doom and gloom,” she said. “It’s fun and energizing.”

Funding, admission

Dunning said the academy is funded by tuition, grants from Coca-Cola, the Bank of Tuscaloosa and the city of Tuscaloosa. Gardner said that the academy falls under the Citizens Impacting Community Association, a local nonprofit created by Plum Grove. The association receives funding from a city of Tuscaloosa block grant, which is where a large portion of the academy’s funding stems.

Tuition at the academy is $150 a year, but scholarships are available to youth who meet certain criteria.

The academy is open to any middle school student in Tuscaloosa County. Gardner said the academy focuses on middle school students because research shows that the transition from middle school to high school can be tough.

“We know that when they go to high school, they’ll have to take tests like the ACT, and transitioning to high school can be socially challenging,” Gardner said.

Any middle school student can apply to the academy, but admission is not automatic.

“We have an interview process where we interview the students and their families,” Dunning said. “I look for the interest of the child. This should be something the child views as an opportunity, not a labor.”

“When we interview the family, we identify their strengths and needs,” he said. “We want to get from them a deeper understanding of the child. We want to find a right fit for not only the family’s aspirations, but where we’re trying to go with this program. We want an internationally recognized program and we want families that want to see their child as international scholars.”

Jones said it doesn’t matter what a child or a family’s background is, what matters is how they see themselves.

“We want to give them an anchor,” Dunning said. “We want them to become disciplined, but also have fun while they’re learning. We want them to have the etiquette and sophistication to be able to handle themselves in any situation they find themselves in.

“We don’t just want them to learn, but to learn how to learn,” he said. “Because learning is life.”

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Plum Grove Baptist Church is taking seriously the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” </p><p>In September 2012, the Rev. Tyshawn Gardner, pastor of Plum Grove, opened the West-Side Scholars Academy, an academic enrichment program. Its mission is to develop Tuscaloosa's youth intellectually and socially so they can compete on an international level in academics and jobs.</p><p>“I think education is the key that unlocks so many doors,” said Gardner, who also is dean of the academy. “Jobs and so many other opportunities become available when you have an education. </p><p>“Our motto is 'Achieving excellence by affirming greatness,' ” he said. “We believe there's greatness in every child and it's our responsibility to affirm that, not only intellectually, but socially as well.”</p><p>West-Side Scholars Academy is a fifth- through eighth-grade program that meets from 8 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. Classes are held at Plum Grove's new Development and Outreach Center, which is adjacent to the church.</p><p>There are 16 students in the program's inaugural class. The school has nine teachers and six administrators. Scholars at the academy are required to wear the school uniform — a long-sleeve button-down white dress shirt with the academy logo on it, a blue tie and khakis.</p><p>The academy teaches math, reading, science, Latin, public speaking, drama, character development and business etiquette.</p><p>“Business etiquette isn't formalized as a class, but it is reinforced through everything we do, like giving firm handshakes, looking people in the eye when you speak to them, keeping your appearance neat and speaking properly,” said Art Dunning, director of the academy.</p><p>Justin Jones, a teacher at the academy, described the school's teaching style as interactive.</p><p>“One of the ways that we combat kids not wanting to be in Saturday school is we engage them,” Jones said. “We play different kinds of music that many of them may not have heard before. We use props like playing cards to teach math. We use games to help them learn in a way that keeps them interested, but we also challenge them in all kinds of ways.</p><p>“We want to challenge their thinking process,” he said. “Also, we are focused on dispelling this nonsense idea that as a student you have no responsibilities. They need to know that when they enter high school, the consequences for not succeeding are high.”</p><p>Gardner said the academy isn't competing with local public schools. He said the academy's staff wants to aid local schools by maximizing their classroom performance.</p><p>“Consistently we're asking our school systems to do more with less,” Jones said. “The academy is here to help them go beyond.” </p><p>Study abroad </p><p>Dunning said they want academy scholars to become cultured and to change their perspectives.</p><p>“We want them to have exposure and enlightenment,” Dunning said. “That's why we're taking them to Costa Rica in early August for four days. They'll be staying at the University of Georgia located there. While there, they'll have classes on biodiversity, visit a volcano, study the ecology of the rainforest and go to the physical site of a continental divide.</p><p>“We want these things to be life-altering,” he said. “It's one thing for us to talk about biodiversity and continental divide, but it's another thing to expose them to it.”</p><p>All 16 scholars and some of their family members will travel to Costa Rica. </p><p>They'll travel this summer to nearby locations such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham's interactive 3-D visualization and simulation lab.</p><p>Mariah Cook, a 12-year-old at the academy and a seventh-grader at Tuscaloosa Magnet School Middle, said her science, math and Latin classes at the academy have helped her in school.</p><p>“I'm learning that Latin helps you understand other romantic languages,” Mariah said. “It's helping me in my Spanish class at the magnet school.</p><p>“I like the academy because it's not all doom and gloom,” she said. “It's fun and energizing.”</p><p>Funding, admission </p><p>Dunning said the academy is funded by tuition, grants from Coca-Cola, the Bank of Tuscaloosa and the city of Tuscaloosa. Gardner said that the academy falls under the Citizens Impacting Community Association, a local nonprofit created by Plum Grove. The association receives funding from a city of Tuscaloosa block grant, which is where a large portion of the academy's funding stems.</p><p>Tuition at the academy is $150 a year, but scholarships are available to youth who meet certain criteria.</p><p>The academy is open to any middle school student in Tuscaloosa County. Gardner said the academy focuses on middle school students because research shows that the transition from middle school to high school can be tough.</p><p>“We know that when they go to high school, they'll have to take tests like the ACT, and transitioning to high school can be socially challenging,” Gardner said.</p><p>Any middle school student can apply to the academy, but admission is not automatic.</p><p>“We have an interview process where we interview the students and their families,” Dunning said. “I look for the interest of the child. This should be something the child views as an opportunity, not a labor.”</p><p>“When we interview the family, we identify their strengths and needs,” he said. “We want to get from them a deeper understanding of the child. We want to find a right fit for not only the family's aspirations, but where we're trying to go with this program. We want an internationally recognized program and we want families that want to see their child as international scholars.”</p><p>Jones said it doesn't matter what a child or a family's background is, what matters is how they see themselves.</p><p>“We want to give them an anchor,” Dunning said. “We want them to become disciplined, but also have fun while they're learning. We want them to have the etiquette and sophistication to be able to handle themselves in any situation they find themselves in.</p><p>“We don't just want them to learn, but to learn how to learn,” he said. “Because learning is life.”</p><p> </p><p>Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.</p>